Ranking PVC Roofing Membranes Using Thermal Analysis

Abstract

The effects of accelerated heat aging on three polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roofing membranes was determined using thermogravimetry (TG), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMA), and tensile testing. The heat aging was done at 100°C and 130°C. In general, it was found that the degradation of the reinforced PVC roofing membranes was proportional to the aging temperature and exposure time. Furthermore, it was found that these thermoanalytical techniques can be used to not only record the changes incurred by the samples due to heat aging, but also to provide a ranking of the heat stability of the various materials. The order of stability, using these techniques, was determined to be V1<V3<V2, which corresponded with the observed order of stability from actual records obtained on roofs. The results obtained demonstrate that TG and DMA, in conjunction with tensile testing, provide a viable, routine method of evaluating the quality of single‐ply PVC‐based roofing membranes.